Bin-gate-operating mechanism for distributing lorries



Sept. 3, 1929. M, MCINTYRE 1,727,172

BIN GATE OPERATING MECHANISM FOR DISTRIBUTING LORRIES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 mum INVENTOR MHLCOLM M la/ Y ATTORNEYS Sept. 3,1929. M. MclNTYRE 1,727,172

BIN GATE OPERATING MECHANISM FOR DISTRIBUTING LORRIES Filed Jan. 27, 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IL. 1 23 I 22 L I H INVENTOR MHLCDLM M INTVRE ATTORNEYS Patented Sept. 3, 1929.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MALCOLM MCINTYRE, OF GRANFORD, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGN- MENTS, TO CARNEGIE STEEL COMPANY, A. CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

BIN-GATEOPERATING MECHANISM FOR DISTRIBUTING LORRIES.

Application filed January 27, 1923. Serial No. 615,338.

My invention relates to bin gate-operating mechanism for distributing lorries, and particularly to a mechanism carried by the lorry and adapted for the operation of any one of a series of gates arranged in the bottom of a storage bin, beneath which the lorry passes, and from which it derives a charge for transfer to the hopper of one or more of a battery of furnaces served by the lorry. The particular object of the invention is to provide mechanism on the lorry which facilitates the operation of the bin gates, and provides certain associated safety devlces.

In the accompanying drawings Fig. 1 is a more or less diagrammatlc broken side elevation of a travelling lorry, to which my invention is applied 1n one form;

Fig. 2 is a view at right angles thereto; and

Fig. 3 is an enlarged plan of the operating lever on the lorry. t

In power plants of large capacity, it is common to provide a battery of furnaces, each having a hopper to which fuel is delivered from a single lorry travelling the length of the battery and deriving its charge from an overhead storage bin. The customary practice is to provide a series of gates in the bottom of the storage bin, each of which, on opening, discharges to the lorry, in which the fuel is weighed and then delivered to the feed hoppers of adjacent or remote furnaces of the battery in accordance with their requirements and the location of the bin supply. The furnaces are commonly arranged in series on one or both sides of an aisle, and the storage bin has a series of gates conveniently spaced along the length of the aisle. It has been necessary heretofore for the attendant to climb the lorry and manually operate the bin gate when the lorry is positioned thereunder. The operation is difiicult and objectionable, and involves considerable delay in the lorry service.

The present invention provides convenient means for operating any of the bin gates from the lorry through suitable control devices carried by the lorry and operable from the lorry platform. The invention comprises, furthermore, a safety interlocking system which prevents travel of the lorry until the bin gate is shut.

In the accompanying more or less diagrammatic drawings, I have shown astorage bin 10 extending longitudinally above an aisle on opposite sides of which are arranged furnaces 11 with their associated individual feed hoppers 12. Rails 13 support a travelling lorry 14 adapted to move back and forth in the aisle. At appropriate points are the feed gates 15 in the bottom of the bin, on the opening of which the fuel is discharged to the measuring or weighing chamber 16 of the lorry. The chutes 17 through which the fuel is in turn delivered to the furnace hoppers 12, are controlled by gates 18 operated by hand lever systems 19 from the lorry plat form 20 in well understood manner.

The bin gates 15 are commonly provided with manually operated levers. The lever 150 here shown, comprises a yoke spanning the gate and rigidly secured to one of the,

pivoted gate jaws, which, in the construction illustrated, are operated in unison through intermeshing gear segments 21. The gate may, however, be of any suitable type without departing from the present invention.

At the free end of the lever yoke is a roller 22 of suflicient size to act as a counterweight,

normally maintaining the jaws of the gate shut, and exerting sufficient pressure to cut through a lump of coal during the closing operation.

To operate the gate I provide at the head of the lorry a cooperating lever 23, also of yoke shape, pivoted at 24, and having at its free end an anti-friction roller 25 adapted to bear against the counter-weight roller 22 of the gate lever 150, and to lift the latter to open the gate. The lorry lever 23 is engaged at 26 by lifting bars 27, the opposite ends of which are connected to cranks 28 on the shaft of a worm wheel within the casing 29 driven by a Worm on the shaft 30 of an electric motor 81. The circuit of the motor is controlled by a manually operated switch 32 within convenient reach of the attendants platform 20 arranged at the foot or lower portion of the lorry.

The switch 32, through an associated solenoid 33, may control the circuit of the lorrytravelling motor (not shown) which is energized through the usual controller 34. This control device may be of any appropriate type. I have, for example, indicated a spring-closed switch bar 330, which opens the motor circuit M C at once upon the ac alternative and may be of the pin type.

tuation. of the switch 32. I preferably also arrange in the same circuit a switch 230 operated by the cam arm 123 on the bin gate lever 23, and automatically opened as the lever rises and automatically closed as the lever falls. Inasmuch as the details of the switches do not enter into the present inven tion, they are illustrated in more or less diagrammatic form.

As a matter of precaution, I provide also an alternative device for operating the lorry lever 23, in the form of a second pair of'lifting bars 35 connected at 36 to the lever, and to the crank 37 on the shaft of a gear 38 with which meshes a pinion 39 on the axis of a sprocket 40. A chain 41 passing around the sprocket 4O hangs freely, and is of such length that its lower end lies within convenient reach of the attendant on the lorry platform 20. 7

The connections at 26 and 36 between the lifting bars 27 and 35 with the lever 23 age T e attendant may readily change from one to the other by climbing to the top of the lorry frame and changing the pin connection from one to the other pair of lifting bars, in case of failure of the motor 31.

The current for driving the motor 31, may be derived from the same mains now com monly used with lorries of the present type for travelling the latter along the aisle, and other purposes, so that no new electrical installation is necessary.

The operation of the lay-out will be readily understood. When the lorry attendant, standing on the platform 20, desires to ob tain charge from the bin 10, he brings the lorry beneath a bin gate 15 by operating the controller 34. When the lorry is halted in proper position, the switch 32 is closed, thus cutting out the controller circuit and energizing the motor 31. As the worm wheel in the casing 29 revolves under the drive of the motor, the crank arm 28 lifts the gate opening lever 23 through the rods 27. If a sufficient charge has not been fed to the lorry during the opening movement of the gate, the switch 32 is operated to break the motor circuit and the gate is held open by the lever 23 since the worm gearing does not permit it to drop by gravity. As soon as sufficient material has been delivered to the lorry, the switch 32 is again closed, and the renewed rotation of the motor 31 lowers the crank arm 28 and permits the gate 15 to close. As

soon as the gate is closed, the switch 32 is' moved to off position, thus re-establishing the controller circuit so that the lorry may be travelled along the aisle and its charge distributed to the several furnace hoppers as required, by the manipulation of the lorry gates 18 through lever systems 19.

' Should the motor 31 fail, the attendant has merely to disconnect the lifting rods 27 from, and connect the rods 35 to the gate opening lever 23, whereupon the lever may be operated through the chain 41.

It will of course be understood that the lay-out is applicable with appropriate modifications to the handling of grain, ore, etc., and that the description thereof in connection with a battery of furnaces is merely illustrative of its general utility.

The lay-out provides convenient and reliable operating means for the bin gates, and facilitates and expedites the loading of the lorry. The safety devices prevent premature travel of the lorry while the bin gate is open. While the arrangements indicated are simple and effective for their purposes,

many modifications of detail in construction and operation will readily occur to those dealing with the problem without departing from what 1 claim as my invention.

I claim 1. The combination with an overhead feed bin having a discharge gate, of a lorry travelling beneath the bin, gate opening means carried by the lorry, means controlling the operation of said gate opening means, and associated means preventing the travel of the lorry in open gate position.

2. The combination with an overhead feed bin having a discharge gate, of a lorry.

travelling beneath the bin, gate opening means carried by the lorry, and a switch operating the gate opening means and controlling the lorry travelling system in open gate position; g

. 3. The combination with an overhead feed bin having a discharge gate, of a lorry travelling beneath the bin, gate opening means carried by the lorry, an electric control for the lorry travelling means, electric means for operating the gate opening means, a switch controlling the latter, and means operative in the closed position of said switch for rendering inoperative the control of the lorry travelling means.

4:. A travelling lorry of the type described, comprising a top suspension frame, a hopper suspended therefrom centrally with respect to the direction of travel of the lorry, a pendant structure adjacent the hopper and also substantially central with respect to the direction of travel of the lorry,

a working platform arranged at the lower portion of said pendant structure, a bin gate opening lever pivoted on the superstructure of the lorry to one side of but extending over the hopper, means mounted on the lorry superstructure for operating said lever, means controlled from the lorry platform for governing said lever operating means, and means accessible from said platform for controlling! discharge from the hopper.

5. The combination with a material delivering hopper having a movable gate for closing its delivery end, of a power operated vehicle for receiving material from said hopper, a power operated unit carried by said Vehicle for opening and closing said gate, and means for rendering said vehicle inoperative when said power operated unit is in operation.

6. The combination with an overhead feed bin having a normally closed gate, of a lorry travelling beneath the bin and having a superstructure and a bottom platform, a lever mounted on the lorry superstructure for opening the gate, a motor operatively connected to said lever to actuate the same, a switch accessible from the bottom platform of the lorry for controlling the motor, and a pendent chain also accessible from the bottom platform ofthe lorry for operating said lever by hand on failure of the motor.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

MALCOLM MOINTYRE. 

